May 29, 2015

Pro-choice outpolls pro-life for first time in 7 years

Pro-choice outpolls pro-life for first time in 7 years

For the first time in seven years, Americans who are “pro-choice” hold a statistically significant lead over Americans who are “pro-life.”
According to a new Gallup poll, 50 percent of Americans now call themselves pro-choice, including 54 percent of women and 46 percent of men. Only 44 percent of respondents labeled themselves pro-life, the lowest response in more than five years.


Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/05/gallup-poll-pro-choice-pro-life-118406.html#ixzz3bYtjGz8l

May 29, 2015

high school letter says 'keep "the girls" covered and supported', don't show 'sausage rolls'

A Pennsylvania high school that warned graduating seniors to wear appropriate dress to an awards ceremony is being accused of imposing a double standard on female students and using language that some found degrading.

Biglerville High School, just north of Gettysburg, caused an uproar when it issued a letter advising female students to "choose modest attire” and keep "the girls" - a euphemism for breasts - covered and supported.

"Please remember as you select an outfit for the awards assembly that we don’t want to be looking at sausage rolls," the letter said. "As you get dressed, remember that you can’t put 10 pounds of mud in a five-pound sack."

While the school, which has about 500 students, warned female students against tight clothing, it only advised boys to wear nice clothes and avoid low-hanging pants.

http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--ybrhegdg--/c_fit,fl_progressive,q_80,w_636/1273780921705217169.jpg

http://news.yahoo.com/pennsylvania-schools-dress-code-letter-criticized-degrading-200844923.html

May 29, 2015

1929 racist Dr. Seuss cartoon for sale by auction

(CNN)A California auction house is selling an early drawing by Dr. Seuss that's sure to disappoint the parents and children who adore his later work.

The 1929 color illustration for "Judge" magazine depicts a blatantly racist scenario and uses a slur to describe black people. It's being auctioned for a minimum bid of $20,000.

In the four-panel drawing titled ''Cross-Section of The World's Most Prosperous Department Store," the artist depicts scenarios in which rich men can purchase items to make their lives more difficult.

These include a fly for your ointment and a monkey wrench for your machinery. The final and largest panel features a crowd of men rendered in classic blackface caricature, with dark skin and pronounced red lips, being presented to a white shopper. A sign reads: "A n---- for your woodpile."


http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/28/living/feat-racist-dr-seuss-drawing/index.html

May 29, 2015

Denver ComicCon Had an All-Male “Women in Comics” Panel

The past few years have seen a lot of discussion (and a lot of misogynist backlash) about improving women's experience of “geek” spaces such as video gaming, sci-fi conventions, and comics. So it was especially puzzling to see that Denver ComicCon, one of the biggest comic conventions in the country, convened a panel called Women in Comics that had no actual women sitting onstage.
When Janelle Asselin of Comics Alliance asked about the omission, Denver ComicCon emphasized the historical aspects of the panel:

t was a panel that took an historical view of women characters in comic books rather than the current role of women creators in the industry or diversity in comics — of which DCC has many with appropriately diverse panels. The Women in Comics panel was a submitted panel that featured respected academics on the subject.
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There's a lot of connections between the sexist boys' club of the comics past and the sexist boys' club of comics present. Perhaps a woman might be able to employ a little personal experience to help draw those historical connections. Plenty of people happen to be history experts and female at the same time. As Asselin notes, one such woman—Trina Robbins, a preeminent historian of women in comics—was even at this year's convention. Well, at least there's a new submission for the endlessly funny “Congrats, you have an all male panel!” Tumblr.
http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2015/05/27/denver_comiccon_s_all_male_women_in_comics_panel.html

May 29, 2015

Owner Of West Loop Pet Care Business Kicks Dog. shuts down business after backlash

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2015/05/27/watch-owner-of-west-look-pet-care-business-kicks-dog/

The dog walking business Alone At Home Pet Care operated out of the West Loop. A former customer of the business says it’s now closed, the result of that disturbing video and the subsequent social media uproar.

In the video, the owner of Alone At Home Pet Care stands quietly in an elevator Tuesday with two dogs, including the puppy Chloe. Then, out of nowhere, he steps on the little dogs paw and less than a minute later, pulls his left foot back and kicks her.

Pam Capraro says the video is “shocking.” Capraro was one of At Home Pet Care’s long-time clients, until today.

“There were no indications that there was a problem or we would have stopped using them,” she said.

It didn’t take long for the video to hit social media and with it outrage on the business’s Yelp page.

May 28, 2015

Cleveland house of horrors captives graduate from high school

Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus realize high school graduation dream with John Marshall Class of 2015
When Ariel Castro kidnapped Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus, he stole 10 years from them, along with everything that matters in life. He took their freedom, their families, their time to be young and their time to plan and begin their lives as adults.

He cheated them out of the major life events most of us take for granted.

One of them was their high school graduations.

They got that back Wednesday when they put on white caps and gowns and received honorary diplomas from John Marshall High School, the Cleveland public school Amanda attended when Castro abducted her on April 21, 2003. It was the day before her 17th birthday.
http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2015/05/amanda_berry_gina_dejesus_real.html#incart_m-rpt-1

May 28, 2015

Bernie isn't even a Democrat

Someone had to say it.

Hillary is lifelong Dem

May 28, 2015

Oops: Israeli Burning Man festival torches ancient remains

Oops: Israeli Burning Man festival torches ancient remains


JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli Antiquities Authority says revelers at a Burning Man festival famous for its pyrotechnic spectacles have accidentally torched some remnants of prehistoric man.

Archaeologist Yoram Haimi says organizers of Midburn, an Israeli affiliate of the Nevada carnival, burned a wooden temple Saturday on a hilltop scattered with flint tools from the Paleolithic, Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods.

The site was discovered 30 years ago by an Israeli archaeologist. The area is not marked with signs and it is hard to see the ancient remains. He says the extent of the damage is unclear.

Eyal Marcus, Midburn spokesman, said antiquities officials only approached organizers in the middle of the festival.
http://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/Oops-Israeli-Burning-Man-festival-torches-6291514.php

May 28, 2015

Police make example of ‘homeless’ man begging with $800 in pockets

The post describes a man, 59-year-old Franklin Jones, who reportedly begs at the intersection of Gause and Interstate 10, according to WGNO. Police can’t arrest Jones because begging isn’t a crime. But on May 21, Jones was spotted stumbling into the road, urinating on the side of the road and he allegedly stole a shopping cart, police said.

Upon his arrest, police found over $800 in his pockets.

Here’s an excerpt from the post:

We continue to offer help, but when you can make $800 in less than a week by “begging”, some people say, “Why get a real job?” We’ve found jobs for people. We’ve offered assistance by bringing some of these individuals to rehab facilities. Bottom line is, it’s up to the individual person if they want help or not. All we can do is guide them in the right direction. We can’t force people to do things…

Slidell Police does their best to address these issues by following the letter of the law and ensuring that no one’s rights are violated. There is no easy solution to this problem, and quite frankly, it is a much bigger and deeper issue than a strictly a police matter. We hope this sheds some light for our Slidell residents and hopefully answered any questions or concerns about this issue.

Some responded in support of the post, while others blasted police for publicly shaming the man.
http://wgntv.com/2015/05/27/police-make-example-of-homeless-man-begging-with-800-in-pockets/

May 28, 2015

Starving in McMansions: Big homes in poor Guatemala

With money that three of his children working in the U.S. sent him, Alejandro Rojas was able to afford an extravagant house in this desolate area of Guatemala. But Rojas, who struggles to feed his family, cannot afford to live in the house, so he rents it out and lives in a nearby shack.


Aldea San Antonio, Cabricán, Guatemala – The white, two-story villa that dominates the entrance to this hamlet on a volcanic hillside in the Mayan highlands could have been plucked straight from any prosperous suburb in the southern United States.

_____

Four feet away in the same dirt yard encircled by a concrete-block wall, however, is a dark, single-room adobe shack covered by corrugated metal where the owner of both houses lives, with barely enough to feed six of his kids.

Money sent from his other three children — ages 16, 22 and 25 — who are working near Atlanta paid for the mansion. What's left covers the meager diet.
"We eat more or less, one can't say well. Frijoles, tortillas, this way we survive," Alejandro Rojas said. He was waiting for the evangelical pastor to start Sunday services in the outsized, and empty, house that Rojas rents out while hoping his older children will one day return to live in it.

"They went because of necessity, but I want them to come back," he said. "They have no papers."

http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/immigration/2015/05/02/starving-mcmansions-big-homes-poor-guatemala/26805235/